Wire Mesh to Keep Voles Out

Voles are small burrowing rodents that do significant amounts of damages to gardens and areas covered with grass by feeding on plants and plant tissues as well as vegetables. Such creatures tend to be among the greatest enemies of gardeners or homeowners who love the latter’s outdoor areas. One preventive measure employed to ensure that voles do not cause any destruction is the use of mesh wires. In this guide the mesh wire will be discussed in terms of adding it to your garden, lawn and yard to keep voles out of it including how to install it properly, which type of mesh to use, and how to get the best results.

Voles one of the rodent species looking for a solution

Voles also called field mice or meadow mice belong to a family of small rodents whose diet is mostly vegetative. In contrast to moles which build burrows eating insects and worms only, voles are herbivorous creatures. Roots, stems, bulbs, and seeds, are pulled out and eaten leading to adverse consequences concerning gardens and lawn. They have circular tunnels within which they turn prone to the soil enabling soil conservation hence enhancing vegetation. Voles reproduce very fast which makes a small population a candidate for a much larger and more difficult threat if left to develop without containment.

Voles reside and build shallow surface nests all seasons of the year. Voles are also known to create shallow nests from where they run their face within the vegetation. Even though these very troublesome and annoying rodents can be hard to remove from one’s garden or yard, it is important to prevent their intrusion using wire mesh instead.

Why Wire Mesh for Vole Control Legalization of Wire Mesh prevents serrated vole eradication fence damage once and for all. The method is to remove voles by sealing off parts of the area where they are likely to attack vegetations or other belongings. With these wire meshes, they do not have to employ poisonous means of repulsing the animals.

Wire mesh is especially helpful for smaller animals like voles since any sized small openings in a solid wall will keep them out. A wire mesh can come in handy effectively in areas such as: Ensuring Voles Do Not Damage Vegetation Voles utilize a variety of climbing techniques in their quest for food and sometimes use intruding disguises.

With targeting wire mesh applications, the chances of vole invasion can be greatly reduced.

How to choose the correct wire mesh there are factors that you should consider

Not every wire mesh functions the same, particularly for the purpose of hot keeping voles out, the right type of mesh and its specifications have to be picked. Other considerations include the following when picking the wireless mesh:

Mesh Size

The overall size of mesh openings is probably the most important feature in deterring voles. Voles are tiny rodents pockets-y 4-8 inches long on average so such mesh has to close of such a size that such voles cannot squeeze thorough. As a rule of thumb mesh with no opening larger at a maximum of 1/4 inch is advisable for vole exclusion. Such wire mesh, about protection against vole, is the hardware cloth which comes in this specs.

Wire Gauge

The wire gauge describes the wire’s strength and its lifespan. A large diameter gauge primarily indicates a strong wire. For instance, thin wire is 19-gauge and 14-gauge is thick wire. For vole prevention, you want a mesh that is both strong and flexible. A mesh size in the range of 16 to 19 is likely to work in making sure voles do not infest your space while also being easy to handle.

Material

Depending on the location of use, wire mesh can be made of different materials, such as galvanized steel, stainless steel or coated wire. Indeed, most people would prefer the galvanized steel since it does not rust and corrode thus facilitating the use of the material outdoors. On the other hand, stainless steel wire mesh is very strong however it is generally more costly. For use in the gardens and lawns, galvanized wire mesh offers the better depending cost and performance ratio.

Using Wire Mesh to Ensure Voles Survive Within Their Constraints

After you have chosen the types of wire meshes you will use, you then proceed to the installation. There are various ways in which one can use wire mesh to keep voles out of different regions of one’s property. Below are some of the most frequently seen methods:

Making Use of an Underground Barrier

Voles evidence the highest level of entrance into one’s garden or the lawn in the presence of an underground barrier that is capable of blocking their entrance. Because the voles do not go too deep underground, it is usually possible to fabricate a wire mesh in the sub-surface to prevent their activities from reaching the surface. This is how to install an underground wire mesh barrier:

Step 1: Proceed to dig a trench which goes round the borders of the region whose security you wish to fortify, for instance, a lawn or a garden. The depth of the trench should not be less than 12-18 inches given that voles are known to burrow very shallow tunnels on the surface of the ground.

Step 2: Obtain the effective dimensions of the trench – length and width cut the wire mesh. Gloves and wire cutters must be utilized for protection and accuracy.

Step 3: Insert the mesh sheet into the trench in an upright position such that the base of this mesh is level with the trench deepest part. Make sure that some inches of mesh are projecting above the earth, to keep the voles from jumping over the barrier.

Step 4: Use soil to fill the trench making sure that it is well packed, around the wire mesh to rill it.

Step 5: To increase efficiency, you can also apply a layer of wire mesh horizontally on top of your raised garden beds before planting to keep voles from tunneling upward through the soil.

Protecting Raised Garden Beds

When it comes to raised garden beds, voles will most likely attempt to dig underneath the structure to get to the plants that you have cultivated. For instance, adding wire mesh at the bottom of the garden bed can solve the problem:

Step 1: You can use wire mesh at the bottom of your raised bed before filling it with soil. The mesh should have a maximum opening hole of 1/4 inch so that voles do not access the bed.

Step 2: The mesh should be fixed to the raised bed frame by using staples or by holding it using landscaping staplers or similar items.

Step 3: After putting the wire mesh in place, earth up the bed as usual and plant. The mesh will act as a wall through which no voles can come up from the bottoms.

Building a Fence around the Area

In the case where voles have become a nuisance in your yard or garden, a wire mesh fence around the place can protect the area for good:

Step 1: First measure the area you want to protect e.g.: a vegetable garden, a flower bed and install wooden or metal poles round its perimeter. The purpose of the poles is to support a wire mesh. The poles should be positioned at some distances apart & well cemented in the concrete floor.

Step 2: Fasten wire mesh on the posts with staples or wire ties. Make certain that, the mesh goes at least 12-18 inches into the earth to keep voles from burrowing underneath the fence.

Step 3: The fence needs to be at least 18 inches high from the ground to thwart voles from scaling it.

Step 4: Look at the fence constantly and fill in any holes or gaps with appropriate materials as they come up.

Management and Oversight

Wire mesh barriers, especially where voles are concerned, tend to be quite useful given that they do prevent the refusal of this other solution. Yet this is true for every solution, in this case, upkeep is important if they are to remain a solution in the future. Some of the maintenance tips for wire mesh barriers include:

Check Regularly: Even with the installation of the facilitation, it is necessary to check the wire mesh barriers for defects or damage after heavy rainfall, snow, or land reclamation. To ensure that voles do not access the barriers, any holes or gaps that have been identified should be worked upon without any delays.

Maintain The Surrounding: Recent studies revealed that voles use vegetation as cover while digging burrows close to the wire mesh and therefore, it is critical that any covers be cut back or removed altogether. Furthermore, maintaining lawn vegetation around the mesh will assist in the early recognition of vole activity.

Add More Layers: In case of no improvement, for the reason that voles still penetrate through the barrier, it is advisable to do further erection of wire dips or other fence materials to cover clean areas which could be perceived as vulnerable.

Other Vole Control Methods

Even though wire mesh is an efficient method when it comes to keeping out voles, assorted approaches might be useful in augmenting the overall strategies. Some more information is given; Eliminate Food Sources:  There is no denying that voles go to areas where there is plenty of food. Plant-clean all tomatoes, seeds, decayed fruits and scraps, and other volumes’ food non-nurtive. Employ Natural Deterrents: There are some plants which are effective in repelling voles, including garlic, castor beans and marigolds. Some of these can be planted in your garden to prevent voles from entering. Set Traps: In case there are already voles in your garden, one can make use of humane traps in order to capture the animals and remove them elsewhere weakly intended plants. These can be set along pathways frequently used by voles or at the entrance of burrows.

Neutralization of the exertion of modest animals like voles can be efficiently and ecologically accomplished with the use of wire mesh materials. It is possible to prevent vole from destroying your plants by selecting the right wire mesh and installing it properly. Wire mesh is the best answer to the problem of voles not only when building an underground barrier, or attaching lining strips to the raised beds but also in creating a fence around the property. With a reasonable effort, it is possible to make an outdoor space free of voles every single day.